Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company Open House on Sunday, October 4, 2015

Community Contributor KITTY VANGUNTEN

Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company's Open House will be Sunday, October 4 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm at the fire department's Main Station, 871 Hopmeadow Street.

Smokey Bear, with his message of "Only YOU can prevent wildfires," will make an appearance. The event will have safety literature, displays and demonstrations. The department's newest fire trucks, Engines 5 and 6, will be on display and there will be firefighter demonstrations and free hats and balloons for the children. Come have your photograph taken in a fire truck.

For Fire Prevention Week, the fire company is assisting in fire drills and giving fire safety presentations at Simsbury schools. This year Fire Prevention Week is being observed nationwide from October 4 through 10, and the theme is "Hear the BEEP where you SLEEP." This year's message from the NFPA is "install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home, including the basement. Larger homes may need more alarms."

Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of October 8, 1871. According to the NFPA, "the fire killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, but continued into and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871." Fire Prevention Week, sponsored by the NFPA, is the longest-running public health and safety observance on record.

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